Middle East ICT spending set to top $32 billion in 2014

Spending on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the Middle East is set to exceed $32 billion in 2014, according to the latest predictions from the International Data Corporation (IDC).

The widespread use of new digital technology is expected to bring changes in a variety of sectors, including public services such as healthcare.

“We anticipate that major players in the region will make significant investments to enhance their infrastructure as they look to scale up their cloud and Big Data capabilities,” said Jyot Lalchandani, IDC’s group vice president and regional managing director in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey. “In this context, securing data will become more vital than ever before.”

If the IDC’s predictions are accurate, the Middle East will be one of the fastest growing ICT markets in the world, with a 7.3 per cent increase on last year’s spending.

The public sector is expected to be a major driver of this increase: along with the communications and financial services sectors, it will be responsible for 74 per cent of total ICT expenditure in the region.

A key driver of public sector ICT investment is the rollout of the Smart City Dubai initiative, which has led other cities in the Middle East to embrace digital technology.

In addition, a move to multi-channel public service delivery, with a focus on self-service transactions, is expected to drive an increase in the use of computers and other technology among both governments and their citizens.

In a further trend, IDC notes that governments will need to strengthen their online security when it comes to managing data, in order to ward off the threat of hackers. This will itself increase ICT spending, as well as reducing the number of security breaches experienced by service providers.

About Kevin Sorkin

Pendragon International Media publish www.globalgovernmentforum.com, a community of senior government officials around the world. Global Government Forum is an important international network focusing on impartial, government news, analysis and best practice. The content addresses the real issues facing senior leaders in public service policy and administration today and aims to support them in developing public services for the future. Our aim is to help all organisations engage with this important community by improving understanding and strengthening relationships.
I am the founder of the Civil Service Awards and Civil Service Live, which are now established industry leading brands and extremely important events for government. I also launched and published Civil Service World, civilserviceworld.com and Civil Service World Research and Information bringing together the civil service community to enable communication, sharing of best practice, inspire and motivate the civil service community.
Over the years I have established relationships with the most senior officials in government and the private sector and have built a very strong and positive reputation across the industry.

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